Valve-operating mechanism for flush-tanks, &amp;c.



W. JE'ROST.

VALVE OPERATING MECHANISM FOR FLUSH TANKS, 6x9.

APPLIUATION FILED sBPT.1,1909.

964,098, Patented Ju1y12, 1910.

rERs col, wAsHmcruN D. c

WALTER'J. FROST, OF KENOSI-IA, WISCONSIN.

VALVE-OPERATING MECHANISM FOR FLUSH-TANKS, &C.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 12, 1910.

Application led September 1, 1909. Serial No. 515,689.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER J. FROST, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Kenosha, county of Kenosha, and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Valve- Operating Mechanisms for Flush-Tanks, &c., of which the following is a speciication.

This invention relates to improvements in valve operating mechanisms for flush tanks, &c., of that general character in which the flushing tank is brought into operation by moving a lever or handle.

Among the salient objects of the invention are to provide a construction in which movement of the handle in either direction is equally eifective in operating the mechanism; to provide an improved leverage mechanism in which a double cam connection to move with the handle acts positively upon either of two interconnected gear segments and so actuates the valve proper; to provide a construction so designed and organized that the main parts thereof may be made of stampings, thus securing both economy and accuracy of manufacture; to provide a construction so organized that it is adjustable to walls of varying thickness, thus enabling a standard size to be adapted to tanks of various makes; to provide a mechanism the parts of which are interconnected to form a unitary attachment which may be applied to a flushing tank as an entirety, thus minimizing the care necessary to .apply it but nevertheless insuring reliability of operation; to provide novel means for securing the handle to the actuating shaft; to provide a construction which is of neat and finished appearance when applied, and in general to provide an improved mechanism of the character referred to.

The invent-ion consists in the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a sectional view through a tank showing an inner wall of the latter to which the invention is applied; Fig. 2 is a vertical axial section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the leverage mechanism taken just inside of the yoke plate and showing the cam and leverage mechanism; Fig. L is a sectional detail showing the means of securing the handle to the cam shaft; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, perspective view of a part of the valve-lifting lever, showing more particularly the manner in which the latter is bent. In the drawing 1 designates a flush tank which may be of any suitable or usual type. The attachment constituting a preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied to the wall of the tank so that the main operative parts are within the tank while the handle is arranged outside the latter, as usual. Through the wall 2 of the tank is arranged to extend a combined bracket 3 and integral bushing 3; the bracket being arranged to rest against the interior of the tank wall and being conveniently clamped against rotary movement by means of a nut 18 applied to the threaded protruding portion 17 of the bushing. Through the bushing is arranged to extend a cam shaft t which is provided with a spline groove 10 extending throughout a considerable part of its length, and at its outer end with a reduced extension 11 to which a handle 12 is attached, in a manner hereinafter described. Upon the cam shaft is mounted a double wing cam 13 which'has an integral tongue 14: engaging the spline groove 10 and two divergently disposed cam extensions or wings 15. The lower angles of the bracket 3 carry outstanding pivot studs conveniently made in the form of hollow rivets 6, and upon these pivoted studs is mounted a valvelifting lever 9, terminating at its inner end in a gear segment 8, and a gear segment 7 which intermeshes with the segment 8. In order to properly confine these parts and the cam 13 in the same plane, a yoke plate 5 is mounted upon the outer ends of the studs 6 and apertured to fit over the end of shaft 4; this yoke plate being rigidly secured by upsetting the ends of the studs 6, as seen in Fig. 1. The cam extensions 15 of the cam, and the upper edges of the gear segments are suitably shaped to coperate in such a manner that as the handle 12 is oscillated in either direction one gear segment or the other will be depressed positively, and since the segments are interconnected, it follows that the valve-actuating lever 9 will be raised. The free end of lever 9 actuates any suitable valve 23 coperating with the outlet pipe 241 of the tank; the valve body being connected with the lever1 9 by means of a link 22 pivoted to the lever, as indicated at 25.

The outer end of the bushing and the nut thereon are desirably inclosed by the escutcheon plate 16 suitably secured to the outer Wall of the tank and centrally apertured to receive the reduced extension 11 of the cam shaft. In conjunction with the handle Vwhich is attached to the cam shaft, the escutcheon plate confines the cam shaft against endwise movement.

The handle 12 is attached to the cam shaft in a novel and peculiar manner now to be described: The attached end of the handle is provided with al lateral socket 12 which fits accurately upon the extension 11 and is also provided with an intersecting axial bore 19 the lower end of which is internally threaded ,to receive a screw key 20. The extension 11 of the cam shaft is correspondingly apertured to receive the key, and the latter is shouldered as indicated at 21 to seat against .the upper end of the handle. By means of this construction the handle is keyed rigidly against both rotary and lateral movement relatively to the cam shaft; the securing means is apparently wholly concealed, since the head of the key is made to resemble a continuation of the handle and the construction is such that the parts may be constructed with great accuracy and economy.

It will be notedthat the bushing is threaded throughout a considerable part of its length so that the nut 18 may be adjusted thereon to clamp walls of varying thickness, and that the hollow escutcheon plate is of such construction as to accommodate the end of the sleeve throughout a fairly wide range of adjustments. The cam-plate being adapted for engagement with any part of the grooved portion of the shaft 4L, and being confined by the yoke plate, the attachment may be applied equally well to thick or thin walls. The cam shaft is purposely made of a suticient length to accommodate walls of minimum thickness. It will, ot' course, be understood that the mechanism is not limited in its use to this particular application, but is susceptible of adaptation to a wide range of uses.

I claim:

1. In a leverage mechanism, the combination of a bearing support, a rocking member mounted therein, a double-winged cam moving with said rocking member, two camactuated members having hinge-like connections with each other pivotally mounted with their flexing connections opposite a point between the two wings of the cam, l

and a handle for actuating said rocking member.

2. In a leverage mechanism, the combination ofa bearing support, a shaft journaled therein, a double-winged cam upon said shaft, a lever pivoted between its ends and terminating in a segment mounted adjacent to and in cooperative relation with one'wing of said cam, and a cooperating segment intergeared with the first and pivotally mounted in coperative relation with the other wing of said cam.

3. In a leverage mechanism, the combination of a bearing sleeve, a rock shaft eX- tending therethrough, a double-winged cam fixed 4upon said rock-shaft, a bracket carried by said sleeve, a pair of intergeared segments pivotally mounted upon said bracket in cooperative relation to the cam, a lever extension connected with one of said segments, and a handle connected with the rock-shaft- 4. In a leverage mechanism, the combination of a bearing sleeve, a rock-shaft eX- tending therethrough, a double-winged cam Xed upon said rock-shaft, a bracket carried by said sleeve, a pair of intergeared segments pivotally mounted upon said bracket in cooperative relation to the cam, a yoke mounted --upon the pivot-studs-overlying both thesegments and the winged cam and conlining said elements in the same plane, a lever extension connected to one of said segments, and a handle connected with the rock-shaft.

5. In a leverage mechanism, the combina tion of a bearing sleeve, a rock-shaft eXtending therethrough, a doublewinged cam iXed upon said rock-shaft, a bracket carried by said sleeve, a pair of intergeared segments pivotally mounted upon said bracket in cooperative relation to the cam, a yoke mounted upon the pivot-studs overlying both the segments and the winged cam and confining said elements in the same plane, 4a lever eX- tension connected to one of said segments, a supporting wall through which said sleeve extends, Vmeans for holding said sleeve ixedly within said wall, and an escutcheonplate fitted over the end of the rock-shaft at that side of the wall remote from the cam-mechanism, and confining the rockshaft against endwise movement in one direction, and a handle applied to said rockshaft outside said escutcheon-plate and limiting the rock-shaft against endwise movement in the opposite direction.

6. The vcombination with a flushing tank having a discharge outlet, of a valve therefor, and mechanism for operating said valve comprising a manually .actuated rock shaft, a double cam carried thereby, intergeared members .actuated by said cam, and oper.-

ative connections between said gear members and valve.

7. The combination With a main frame, of a bracket mounted thereon and having a 5 bearing s1eeve,said sleeve projecting through said main frame and screw threaded at lts outer end, a clamping nut for said threaded end, a shaft journaled in said sleeve and having a spline groove, a cam upon said shaft and having a lug sliding in said groove, 10 leverage mechanism operated by said cam, and means for operatinof said shaft.

WAirER J. FROST. Witnesses:

F. J. FINKLER, FLORENCE MCGREAL. 

